Em5 II, new user with questions

Hi there! I just got an em5II, read twice the manual, and have been fiddling wih the menus for few hours and almost got where I want to be (btw the menu is really not that bad as a lot of people say).I still have some issues and hope you gals and boys can help me. Is there a way of renaming the files to make them start where I left with my other camera? With the panas you could hack them by renaming the first picture taken and formatting the card-here I tried to change the file name in the apposite menu but the pictures taken do not reflect my changes in the menu...still showing 100 0001 and so on instead of 123 0001... Is there a way to have the battery showing all the time (can't find a way to have it on screen after startup for the love of God). Third and last, I can't manage to get a proper WYSIWYG preview, as the exposure parameters start blinking after a certain point. Thanks for the help! P.S. It is reaaally customizable, isn't it?

If the blinking things are the exposure numbers (aperture, etc.) this means that the camera would like to push that value more but cannot, like when you shoot wide open during the day with a fast lens and you see 4000 or 8000 blinking. When does it happen (low light, shutter priority with fast speed, etc.)?

Otherwise to cycle through the display modes press the Info button (level, histogram, blinkies, clear, basic info, etc.). You can choose in the menu which modes you want to to be available or not.

By default the EVF is wysiwyg, if you enabled the live view boost then you get a fixed bright display instead.

I see now the battery showing 2/3, got it! Regarding the naming, I changed it in camera and now I have downloaded some I can see they have the file naming I gave them, but the in camera preview shows a different name! Anyway, that's set. I don't really care about the filename on the lcd, as long as the downloaded one is correct.

I may have not been clear about the blinking: the exposure numbers start to blink after the +/-3 EV compensation, but do not generate a lighter/darker preview than 3 EV. This is especially a problem in manual where I can't see the amount of motion blur applied if I purposely shake the camera in hand held exposures of say half a second to a second, or when wanting to see the effect of long exposure before actually taking the shot. This is available in manual mode on the Panasonic, where the lcd/evf refreshes the screen as per the set SS, and not at x times per second where the SS is higher than the refresh rate of the lcd/evf. Any hints on how to achieve this?

I may have not been clear about the blinking: the exposure numbers start to blink after the +/-3 EV compensation, but do not generate a lighter/darker preview than 3 EV.

Click to expand...

Yes, the EVF preview does not go after 3 EV of compensation. Never happened to me to go that far, I use AEL or switch to manual if I need to do something so far from the default exposure.
And if the numbers blink it means that you are turning the wheel with no effect on the exposure parameters anyway. Compensation only shift the free parameters of the mode you are using.

This is especially a problem in manual where I can't see the amount of motion blur applied if I purposely shake the camera in hand held exposures of say half a second to a second, or when wanting to see the effect of long exposure before actually taking the shot. This is available in manual mode on the Panasonic, where the lcd/evf refreshes the screen as per the set SS, and not at x times per second where the SS is higher than the refresh rate of the lcd/evf. Any hints on how to achieve this?

Once the battery icon shows anything other than full, you are on notice that you are running out of juice and you should have a spare battery on hand. This is different from most other battery meters. Once you make your peace with this bit of Olympus quirkiness, budget one battery for 250/300 frames and carry sufficient spares you'll be fine.

Once the battery icon shows anything other than full, you are on notice that you are running out of juice and you should have a spare battery on hand. This is different from most other battery meters. Once you make your peace with this bit of Olympus quirkiness, budget one battery for 250/300 frames and carry sufficient spares you'll be fine.

Thanks Barry! I'm getting used to the new "environment" and must say it is much easier than the internets suggest! It is also very easy to have the camera configured as one needs. I think I'll have it perfectly set up just in time for the firmware update

Update done and issue with timelapse solved! Now it can do 30fps in camera! New question though- is it possible to have some info on the lcd/evf about the focusing distance of the lens? Yesterday I was doing some macro, and when in mf mode there is no way (that I know) to tell if you can focus closer or not...